This invention relates to the removal of unwanted aquatic weeds, such as water lilies and milfoil from lakes and similar bodies of water, and, more particularly, relates to an apparatus and a method of removing the aquatic weeds in a manner to diminish their regrowth and to conveniently dispose of the weeds once they are removed from the aquatic environment.
There are an increasing number of lakes, both in the United States and other parts of the world, that have been infested with an aquatic weed known as "Eurasian Milfoil". This weed grows rapidly in freshwater lakes and makes them unsuitable for water-skiing or boating. In smaller lakes, the infestation can reach such proportions that the milfoil actually chokes off all other life in the lake and destroys the lake. Several herbicides have been found useful in combatting the milfoil, as well as other aquatic weeds; however, certain of them are unsuitable for use in recreational lakes because of the harmful effect on fish and other aquatic life.
Most prior attempts at mechanical elimination or at least reduction of the weed levels in freshwater lakes have been directed toward cutting the weeds at a point below the surface of the water but leaving the roots intact, much like mowing a lawn. While these methods provide for an immediate decrease in the weed level and an increase in the usefulness of the lake, the weeds grow back and, in much the same manner as mowing a lawn, the weeds seem to grow back at a faster rate than they would have without the mowing. Also by complete removal of the weeds from the lake the phosphate and nitrate levels of the water are reduced, which in turn slows the rate of weed and algae growth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,106 describes a method and apparatus of weed removal that has a more permanent, or at least longer lasting effect on the weed population of a given body of water, that involves actually removing roots of the plants rather than simply mowing the plants back to an innocuous length. While the method and apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,106 have proved to be successful and viable for weed removal, it is desired to provide a more mechanically simple apparatus to accomplish essentially the same purpose and, also, to provide for the easy removal from the lake of the uprooted weed stalks with a single vehicle.